How Much Do I Love Somerville Mayor Curtatone…

November 30, 2012

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Curtatone is awesome! This time, it’s for telling developers there is absolutely no way he would allow a casino in Somerville. “Over my dead body” was how he put it. You can read the full article via the link below. Curtatone gave further explanation via Facebook this morning:

“For anyone who didn’t know, I think I made my opposition to casinos in Somerville pretty clear in yesterday’s Globe article. When you have the value proposition that Somerville has – highly educated workforce, great cultural mix, proximity to entire Greater Boston area – you don’t need gimmicks. We have a thriving restaurant and nightlife scene and we never needed dice or card games to make it happen.

“The kind of development and job growth taking place in Assembly Square is going to be replicated in the Inner Belt and Brickbottom. Casinos would actually drive away the high tech, research and development, and high-paying white collar jobs we will be adding in Somerville. We need to be diligent, not desperate.

“The long-term payoff will be higher and our quality of life will be better for it. Hopefully the progress we’re making in Assembly Square becomes an example for other neighboring communities looking to transform old industrial zones into something new and vibrant.”